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In the Winterset Limestone of the Kansas City Group (Pennsylvanian) there is a section that is thick with Composita brachiopods. On one of these I found the tiny (around 1 mm) items in the pictures. Any help with their identification would be appreciated. Russ

This item is 6.5 x 2.5 mm. It is from the Middle Creek Member of the Kansas City Group (Pennsylvanian Subsystem) and was found in conjunction with crinoid pieces, brachiopods, bryozoans, and horn coral. Any ID help will be appreciated. Russ Front: Back: Back with measurement: Left side: Right side: Top (tip): Bottom (tip):

This was found in gravel near a house in southern Kansas City. It is impossible to say where it originated. My guess is that it is local; most of this area is Pennsylvanian. The pattern only shows up on a tiny spot on the back of the stone. Any ID help will be appreciated. Russ

This specimen was a surprise to me. At first glance, because of the delicate fibrous appearance and the wood color, I thought it was a modern piece of wood embedded in the middle of a boulder. Closer examination, however, revealed what you see in the pictures. This specimen is from the Winterset Limestone Member in the Kansas City Group, Pennsylvanian subsystem. It is about 1 cm long with a short branch off to the side. The specimen is split in half laterally and the pictures show the two halves that fit together. There were various brachiopods and half of a nice four-inch involutely coiled nautiloid (at least I think that is what it is) in the same boulder. The fossil is siliceous and has well-preserved, tiny fibers which are the color of wood. Although, it may be that the color is actually the same dusty red-brown or dusty purple as some other fossils in this member (mostly brachiopods). From the scant resources I have on hand for plant identification, I have guessed that it might be a Calamites. Any help with identification will be appreciated. Russ Russ

This specimen is from the Winterset Limestone Member in the Kansas City Group, Pennsylvanian Subsystem. It is somewhat fragile (I broke off two small pieces and then repaired it), so I have not be able to remove it from its matrix. The fossil is about 2x1 cm. There are small brachiopods and a bit of fan bryozoan on the rock as well. I have not seen any other fossils like this one in the area. It might be a gastropod, but the “base” of the fossil seems oblong, as though it came to a point (but is now broken) and the fossil does not really look spiral (although it is hard to tell). There are two photos of the front view; in addition there is a photo from the right side and another from the left side. Any help regarding identification will be appreciated.

I have been a fossil hunter for about two years and I suppose I have around 100 species in my collection. The vast majority of my specimens are incomplete/broken but even so I find them fascinating. Here in Kansas City I have enjoyed the Winterset, Middle Creek, and Sniabar limestone members in the Kansas City Group--all in the Pennsylvanian subsystem. Often, however, I am not able to identify the specific members or formations in the road-cuts that I frequent. Some of my grandchildren enjoy going fossil hunting with me, and it is great being in nature and hiking some with them too. Recently I have discovered the microfossils in some nodules/concretions and have made good use of my 10x loupe (I do not have a microscope yet). Beginning collectors like myself are fortunate to have a wonderful resource for this part of the country—Richard Gentile’s book called Rocks and Fossils of the Central United States, with special Emphasis on the Greater Kansas City Area (Univ. of Kansas Dept. of Geology, 2011). My copy is getting worn, wrinkled, and taped from steady reference and sometimes being in my backpack. The Fossil Forum has also been an important source of information for me these last two years, and now I hope to participate more actively. In addition, I hope to choose a focus or two to concentrate on and perhaps move beyond the beginning stages of collecting with this specialization. My thanks in advance to those members of the forum who will being responding to my questions.

PetrolPete and his dad came into town for some Pennsylvanian hunting. We were joined by JeepDigger and Kehbe. Our first stop was at an exposure of Winterset Limestone in southeast Kansas City, Missouri: The fossiliferous beds are in the upper Winterset. Here, these beds are grouped into three distinct zones: The pinkish-brown ledge in the middle is cross-bedded oolite with some pockets of coquina. Cephalopods and trilobites can be found here, along with other mollusks, brachiopods (especially Composita), and a few minor miscellanea. The collecting can be really good when you hit the coquina pockets. I was hoping the recent snow melt and temperature swings would pry some chunks loose from the rock face, but that didn't seem to happen this time. I didn't collect anything from this zone, but I can't speak for the other guys.... well, JeepDigger did find a rather large Deltodus tooth. Below the oolite is a series of medium-thick, micritic limestone beds separated with shale partings. I call these the 'blue beds'. The fauna is somewhat similar to that of the oolite, but the fossils are a bit trickier to coax out of the rock. I did find a pretty good example of some strange forms I've been finding in this zone: Through the microscope: Graptolites came to mind, but it soon became obvious that these are cross-sections of potato chip-like forms. These could possibly be bryozoans or pelecypods that were preserved in such a way that made the shell structure visible. I always like a mystery.... The 'blue beds' also contain some trace fossils. These branching burrows (Chondrites?) appear to be filled with shell debris: There are also some larger, ghostly, tube-like things that may be debris-lined burrows: The thin-bedded limestone at the top of the section contains sparse Cordaites leaves and not much else.

I'll start with images I've already posted on the forum. All are from the Kansas City metropolitan area. Winterset Limestone.... Metacoceras: Liroceras: Stenodomatoceras: Undetermined: Domatoceras umbilicatum: Wea Shale.... Metacoceras: Westerville Limestone.... Domatoceras: Chanute Shale.... Mooreoceras or Pseudorthoceras: Liberty Memorial Shale.... Metacoceras: I'll add many more images in the future.

Picked up a few little Muncie Creek nodules, just for something to do. Expecting (or at least hoping) to find some conularia, they were all pretty much a bust, except this one. It was a very small nodule, but has a very distinct something inside. It really looks like shell, but the 'tri-hull' shape and the amount of apparent growth lines is kind of throwing me. But then, I know very little other than the most common stuff. Any ideas? A sort of panoramic view: Thank you! Steve

My folks have a nice lake behind their house. It is relaxing to spend a warm evening watching a heron spear fish or geese fight each other. Or watch silt slowly fill the lake bed. Across the street, a housing developer stripped off a bunch of soil down to the bedrock, but ran out of money before building on the land. This has resulted in some significant erosion and sedimentation in the lake, but this cloud does have a silver lining. I soon noticed a thick bed of shale exposed on the hill. So it was only a matter of time until I make the short trip to the top. The hill, with exposed shale, can be seen on the right. No, I did not hunt that day. A few weeks ago, I drove up there and poked around the Pennsylvanian strata. The Island Creek Shale is the first bed encountered: There are thin beds of calcareous sandstone within. Oh look, ripple marks: And trace fossils: I've found fusulinids and brachiopods where the shale thins several miles to the south.